Apple Posts Final Cut Pro X FAQ, Promises Updates

[samcraig]

It's not like FCP7 just got deleted from their computers.

No.. but support has. And without the ability to import older projects - editors now have to use two different programs (one for new projects and one to edit/revise older ones)

The fact is - for many professional editors - FCPX isn't usable as released. And those editors are completely justified in voicing their complaints. Why? Because Apple released the software and is selling it. That entitles anyone (professional or not) to evaluate it and voice their issues/compliments.

The logic of "just don't upgrade" is a bit faulty. The point isn't if/when it will be viable to upgrade. The issue TODAY is that it's not usable and that's what some people are commenting on.

Arn's comment a few pages back is very eloquent and accurate.

I also can't think of any new software version that wasn't able to import an older version. I *think* I understand why it wasn't/isn't possible with FCPX - but I also think something could have been done - even with user prompting - to facilitate an import of some sort.

And for the person who joked/mocked/whatever about MS Office having issues importing older files - I have to laugh because I've been using MS Office since the first version - and except on a very few occasions - I've never NOT been able to import an older file into the new version. Does it need some tweaking - sometimes. But it still imports.

 

[econgeek]

1) Posting this FAQ AT launch!

2) Explaining to some industry big-wigs about the changes.

3) Make a transition plan, much like the MobileMe to iCloud plan. Keep selling FCP7 for a period of a year and then EOL it.

However, you, I and the wall all know this is Apple.....they aren't so good at communicating with customers.....pro or not

-Kevin

1) They did post a FAQ at launch. (The product has been out only a few days.)
2) They did get big wigs on board with the changes. The big wigs love it. What you're hearing from are AVID so-called "professionals" who are NOT editors, but just ADOBE bashing Apple.
3) FCP 7 is still for sale. The whole claim that it has been EOLed is bogus.

Apple is great at communicating.... they just can't always overcome the shouting of the liars.

 

[cgbier]

You will be waiting forever!

Yeah, figured that meanwhile...

 

[manu chao]

And how serious is that?

T.

As honest but subjective and emotional reactions and likely much less important than what they seem to be.

 

[samcraig]

Remember antanna gate? This is just another one of those fabricated "failures".

Apple held a press conference. They admitted their was a "flaw" in the antenna. They also pointed that all phones have a similar issue. That last point can be debated.

Point is - that just because all phones have a similar issue doesn't mean the iPhone doesn't. And that means that it wasn't a fabricated failure.

But keep on trying to equate anyone with something to say that doesn't praise Apple as a hater. I'm sure that works out well for you.

 

[Oletros]

i've been doing multicam with it all morning.

Hilarious

 

[econgeek]

No.. but support has.

This is false, and if you work in the industry you would know it. Nowhere has Apple said they are going to stop supporting it. None of the companies (most support is provided by third parties) have thrown up their hands and invalidated their support contracts, or stopped selling support services.

The fact is - for many professional editors - FCPX isn't usable as released.

That is an opinion. Unless you're now saying it crashes on launch for everybody and can prove it. So, when you say "the fact is" what you tell me is that you're not a professional editor and you're just jumping on the apple bashing bandwagon.

That entitles anyone (professional or not) to evaluate it and voice their issues/compliments.

And we're perfectly right to point out that these "complaints" are mostly falsehoods, or based on dishonesty, or misrepresentation of the situation... such as your lie about support above, or your claim that the product doesn't work at all, which you called "A fact".

Hilarious

Sigh, I can't say I'm surprised that the bashers are completely ignorant of the facts... I guess the facts don't matter, right? Apple is evil, and it doesn't matter what the truth is, so long as you can convince some gullible person not to use an apple product, right?

Nevermind making an argument, or responding to arguments. That's not worth your time, is it?

Which, of course, just proves my point.

Apple held a press conference. They admitted their was a "flaw" in the antenna. They also pointed that all phones have a similar issue. That last point can be debated.

Once again, people who never took college physics think that their opinions are facts, and you can't debate them.... they cannot even construct a counter argument.... as you have failed to do so here.

Point is - that just because all phones have a similar issue doesn't mean the iPhone doesn't. And that means that it wasn't a fabricated failure.

Actually it does. All phones work this way. Its physics. The people going after the iPhone for this were acting like there was a defect in the iphone, rather than a consequence of the laws of physics. It is a perfect example of people who are ignorant of technology attacking Apple based on their ignorance.

Here people claim that the app doesn't support multicam-- when in reality, it supports it better, for the way I shoot, than the previous version! BTW ,that claim was disproven last week by Pogue, but still they keep repeating it.

But keep on trying to equate anyone with something to say that doesn't praise Apple as a hater. I'm sure that works out well for you.

I'm equating people who lie about apple to try and make them look bad as "haters". By attacking me in this way you confirm my accusation-- after all, if you had an argument to the point, you wouldn't need ot make an argument to the person.

 

[The Phazer]

3) FCP 7 is still for sale. The whole claim that it has been EOLed is bogus.

No it isn't.

Phazer

 

[Oletros]

This is false, and if you work in the industry you would know it. Nowhere has Apple said they are going to stop supporting it. None of the companies (most support is provided by third parties) have thrown up their hands and invalidated their support contracts, or stopped selling support services.



That is an opinion. Unless you're now saying it crashes on launch for everybody and can prove it. So, when you say "the fact is" what you tell me is that you're not a professional editor and you're just jumping on the apple bashing bandwagon.



And we're perfectly right to point out that these "complaints" are mostly falsehoods, or based on dishonesty, or misrepresentation of the situation... such as your lie about support above, or your claim that the product doesn't work at all, which you called "A fact".



Sigh, I can't say I'm surprised that the bashers are completely ignorant of the facts... I guess the facts don't matter, right? Apple is evil, and it doesn't matter what the truth is, so long as you can convince some gullible person not to use an apple product, right?

Nevermind making an argument, or responding to arguments. That's not worth your time, is it?

Which, of course, just proves my point.

I really hope that this is a role, not reality.

 

[Reach]

I've been doing multicam with it all morning.

With the work-around Pogue wrote about (which is not in any stretch of the imagination a replacement), or do you mean you have edited something using clips from multiple cameras? I kid you not, some people think multicam means just that..

 

[mBox]

Nice slap of a wakeup call to the non digital tape using workflow industries:

"Can I edit my tape-based workflow with Final Cut Pro X?
Yes, in a limited manner. Final Cut Pro X is designed for modern file-based workflows..."

So the harder more technical to (re)implement features take longer, and they've got a product out they can iron bugs out of in the meantime.

Are the pros that agile they could, would or should jump onto a new version of FCP for their main work? Seems the main issue is impatience on getting their features so they can use it!

To be honest most real pro houses digitize their material to digital format not using FCP or NLE software. Back when we were mostly DVCAM, we would dump all our VHS and even BetaSP to DVCAM first so that we at least have a digital tape version. But back then it was mostly BetaSP to Avid Media Composer (to keep quality higher) and that wasnt always a fun ride

 

[goodcow]

Too much noise on this release.
Too much stress, too much anger.

I am not a pro using Final Cut Studio.
People are way over stressed about this launch.

While I agree with the PROs that there are too many missing features to a veteran app like final cut pro I think there is way too much noise about this release.

People screaming on forums that they will leave final cut for other platforms are just vocal.
Wouldn't it be easier to keep using the same old FCS 3 suite and wait for a while until they release updates?
Then, if nothing good comes out, move to another platform.

I am sure their talent can be put to work quite fast on AVID or on Premiere!
I do understand it is hard to be parted from a piece of software with which you had "a symbiotic relationship". But screaming will not do too much.
For sure Apple will not change everything back.

Just WAIT! Have patience. I know there are money involved in this.

But think this way: waiting a little for the fog to clear out, check how updates on FCS will work out and then make a decision to stay or move to other options.

Is it that hard people????

There are lots of businesses that are built around the entire Final Cut Studio workflow. FCPX clearly, at the moment at least, won't cut it. The reason people are freaking out is not only because FCPX doesn't meet their needs, but Apple has needlessly EOLed Final Cut Studio. There's no legal way to purchase more seats of the old software for your business.

So now they either have to wait and hope that FCPX improves, or dump a ton of money into a platform switch.

I just don't understand why Apple would EOL Final Cut Studio.

 

[cgbier]

I've been doing multicam with it all morning.

Enlighten us backward ones: How do you do that?

 

[mBox]

Apple held a press conference. They admitted their was a "flaw" in the antenna. They also pointed that all phones have a similar issue. That last point can be debated.

Point is - that just because all phones have a similar issue doesn't mean the iPhone doesn't. And that means that it wasn't a fabricated failure.

But keep on trying to equate anyone with something to say that doesn't praise Apple as a hater. I'm sure that works out well for you.

Hmm as a pro video guy I'm flattered that most are placing this debacle in the same level as the antennae problem. But really? Its a phone that hits the masses 100x than FCPX. Its their bread and butter so yes I guess it was right for Steve to make a press conference. Video editors...sadly we dont get that love

 

[thatisme]

When a company stops selling the product they're pretty much forcing you to either upgrade or look elsewhere. Not today but down the line.

....and yet Microsoft extended the support of XP a number of times. They kept updating the system long after Vista came out and they made sure that their customers were informed more than a year in advance. I believe they currently say that XP support (patches/updates/etc) will be discontinued in 2014.

See the difference?

But what you forget is that MS did the same thing Apple did. They EOL'd their product. THEN, companies complained about the new software loud enough that MS then reversed course and continued to support and update the software. Yes, there is a timetable out there for the eventual EOL of the program, but if MS had it's way, it would have been a clean break to Vista, and you know how that story would have panned out. Now, we have 7, from what I hear, is better than Vista.

Take this and now apply this to FCPX. People bitch about missing features (justifiably), and Apple now has a rough roadmap on their software, promising feature sets to be added. When has Apple done this in the past? Usually, they are more secretive than the CIA about product roadmaps.

They also began providing refunds for purchases of FCPX. Unheard of from Apple.

I would be willing to bet that FCPS licenses will be made available again for a period of time, until which FCPX becomes feature complete.... Only time will tell

 

[mBox]

Enlighten us backward ones: How do you do that?

There is a method released where you use the audio to sync all your clips and then apply it in Audition. I dont have any frickin multi cam material here cuase we only shoot with one camera. Its a RED MX and they aint cheap

 

[econgeek]

With the work-around Pogue wrote about (which is not in any stretch of the imagination a replacement), or do you mean you have edited something using clips from multiple cameras? I kid you not, some people think multicam means just that..

Enlighten us backward ones: How do you do that?

It isn't a "workaround" it is just a different way of doing it. And it works better than the previous way. In fact, it is fairly easy to cut between the cameras, and the app automatically lines them up for you to boot.

The idea that you can't do this is so absurd that it shows just how dishonest this whole thing is. What do people think-- when you buy a new camera you have to buy a new version of FCP? Or that you can only use footage from one camera in a given project? How would FCP even detect that you were using footage from two different cameras? Can it tell cameras of the same model apart, or does it only work for cameras from different manufacturers? We know it can't be different resolutions because Apple has made it very public that you can mix footage of different formats.

Apple would have to go thru a lot of work to *Prevent* people from using multiple cameras, when you think about it!

Every video about FCP shows stacking footage from multiple shoots and cutting between them. It doesn't matter if those shots came from the same camera at different points of time, or different cameras at the same point in time.

IF you have multiple cameras running at the same time it automatically syncs them, so, its actually easier than other editing programs for this type of editing.

I'm sure Apple can extend the feature, and that is what they are promising to do.

But the claim that you can't do it now is a bald faced lie.

And that this claim has been repeated often and to the point where cgbier is so certain of it that he can smugly demand I prove it to him--- shows this is all about bashing Apple and that most of the people doing it don't know the first thing about editing, or Final Cut Pro X.

Hell, just watching the videos on the Apple website and you can see intercutting between shots from different cameras!

All the rest of the bitching is on the same level.... disingenuous at best, but mostly dishonest.

Ok, I'm done here. It isn't worth my time to argue video editing with people who aren't even familiar with the basic concepts.

I can't believe you guys spend your time online running around bashing Apple. What pathetic lives you must have.

Back to editing for me.

 

[netnothing]

1) They did post a FAQ at launch. (The product has been out only a few days.)

Ummm...not quite. This FAQ should have been there on the App Store page so people would know BEFORE buying it.

2) They did get big wigs on board with the changes. The big wigs love it. What you're hearing from are AVID so-called "professionals" who are NOT editors, but just ADOBE bashing Apple.

No doubt they talked to lots of people....and overall FCPX looks fantastic. However, all the "pro" complaints and valid. They removed key features and functionality from FCPX. This isn't about "change". No crap people are going to have to "change" in order to learn/use FCPX.....but there is no learning when you can't do certain aspects.

3) FCP 7 is still for sale. The whole claim that it has been EOLed is bogus.

FCP7 is not for sale from Apple....which means that technically support isn't available either unless you have the pro support contract. Of course with boxed software, you'll always be able to get it from 3rd party resellers for months. That's not the point. I can get iLife '08 from Amazon today:
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-iLife-08-OLD-VERSION/dp/B000BX5JQG

Doesn't mean Apple is gonna support it.

Apple is great at communicating.... they just can't always overcome the shouting of the liars.

Apple needs to "Speed up" the communication. Too many days between it's release (6/21) and the FAQ (6/28). Sorry...but even 7 days is too long.

-Kevin

 

[samcraig]

This is false, and if you work in the industry you would know it. Nowhere has Apple said they are going to stop supporting it. None of the companies (most support is provided by third parties) have thrown up their hands and invalidated their support contracts, or stopped selling support services....

That is an opinion. Unless you're now saying it crashes on launch for everybody and can prove it. So, when you say "the fact is" what you tell me is that you're not a professional editor and you're just jumping on the apple bashing bandwagon.

And we're perfectly right to point out that these "complaints" are mostly falsehoods, or based on dishonesty, or misrepresentation of the situation... such as your lie about support above, or your claim that the product doesn't work at all, which you called "A fact".

Sigh, I can't say I'm surprised that the bashers are completely ignorant of the facts... I guess the facts don't matter, right? Apple is evil, and it doesn't matter what the truth is, so long as you can convince some gullible person not to use an apple product, right?

I'm equating people who lie about apple to try and make them look bad as "haters". By attacking me in this way you confirm my accusation-- after all, if you had an argument to the point, you wouldn't need ot make an argument to the person.

Well I guess you "lose" since I do work in the industry. Apple didn't say they were going to support it. Yet if more people in my office need FCP 7 - tell me - how do we purchase licenses for it from Apple.

I'm not jumping on any bandwagon. If 5, 10, 50, 75 whatever percent of my business revolves around taking years of legacy edits and updated them - I can't do that in FCPX. And that makes FCPX unusable. You seem so caught up in trying to discredit my post that you neglected to understand the semantics of my post. I didn't say the software was unusable by all professionals. Nor did I say the software itself was unusable. What I said was "for many professional editors - FCPX isn't usable as released. " Re-read that statement a few times until you understand it. Thanks.

And sure - you're entitled to your opinion. But maybe you should try looking at the situation from a less egocentric/applecentric point of view. Then you'll understand the complaints and why you might not have the issue - you'll come to see that not everyone thinks/has the same workflow as you.

I never said Apple was evil. I said that for some professionals - FCPX isn't usable AS RELEASED. That's a fact. There's nothing to debate there.

 

[milo]

It's good that they did this and was incredibly dumb that they didn't release this info BEFORE putting the software on sale. But those on the high end aren't going to be that happy with all the answers. Too many basically say you'll have to buy expensive third party apps to get functionality back that was in 7 (oops, so much for the price drop) or boil down to "you're holding it wrong". This document is a step in the right direction but they botch it by throwing in digs about the way most broadcast/film work is not the "modern" workflow they're interested in supporting.

I guess we'll see where the software is in six or 12 (or more) months. If one of the alternatives wants to step up their game, now's definitely the time to steal back the high end of the market.

 

[Oletros]

It isn't a "workaround" it is just a different way of doing it. And it works better than the previous way. In fact, it is fairly easy to cut between the cameras, and the app automatically lines them up for you to boot.

Hell, just watching the videos on the Apple website and you can see intercutting between shots from different cameras!
...
All the rest of the bitching is on the same level.... disingenuous at best, but mostly dishonest.

It's definitive, you're only a little troll, you can't be real, it woudl be so ridiculous someone like you.

From Apple FAQ:

Does Final Cut Pro X support multicam editing?
Not yet, but it will. Multicam editing is an important and popular feature, and we will provide great multicam support in the next major release.

 

[hayesk]

So a third party developer could do what apple said they couldn't do because they would lose data?

If there's a plugin, then what the heck are people complaining about then? Oooh, you have to buy a third party product. Boo freakin' hoo!

This and the support being added back in, says to me the real whiners are not because Apple isn't supporting you is that Apple is making you learn something new. Cry me a freakin' river.

When Adobe switched from Pagemaker to Indesign, people didn't bitch like children all over the Mac news sites. They continued to use PageMaker and upgraded when InDesign met their needs.

When Apple released XCode 4, people didn't jump to XCode 4 right away, and many still haven't. They're waiting until it serves their needs and they're not whining like children about it.

 

[milo]

1)Apple is great at communicating....

Wow, one of the most laughable comments I've seen on this board in a long time. Communication is arguably Apple's weakest trait.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

There are lots of businesses that are built around the entire Final Cut Studio workflow. FCPX clearly, at the moment at least, won't cut it. The reason people are freaking out is not only because FCPX doesn't meet their needs, but Apple has needlessly EOLed Final Cut Studio. There's no legal way to purchase more seats of the old software for your business.

So now they either have to wait and hope that FCPX improves, or dump a ton of money into a platform switch.

I just don't understand why Apple would EOL Final Cut Studio.

It's a 12 year old code base. Most version of Operating Systems don't have nearly as long of a life cycle. Windows XP is the lone exception.

Final Cut Pro 7 may have been released in 2009 but it's code base goes back to 1999 for Apple, never mind Macromedia.

Keep using it for your needs today. If you find investing $299 for FCPX in your workflow, today, is a burden I somehow think people miss the boat on software transitions.

These frustrations remind me of the old Mac OS stalwarts when OS X was released.

 

[samcraig]

It isn't a "workaround" it is just a different way of doing it.

By your own definition - it's a work around.

(pssssst. Apple themselves, on their website FAQ stated that Multicam editing wasn't supported yet... so any workflow you have IS a work around.)

Thanks for playing...